koukikoukis Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Hello everyone, I am new here and want to say that i like this forum very much! I just have a quick question. My little girl, Ria ( 5 months old ) doesn't want to stay inside her cage, and everytime i put her inside, she goes to a corner and starts "digging" for about half an hour or maybe more.... Can anybody tell me if i am doing something wrong with her? Thank you very much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdhouse Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Hi koukikoukis & welcome! Hope you like us enough to keep coming round & share some stories about Ria & maybe some pics. It's probably just that Ria's frustrated at being confined. The digging is somewhat effective at getting a parront's attention, too. Many birds do it. You can talk across the house/room to her while she settles down. Let her know that you're still in contact even when she's not physically near. You can also try putting a distraction into her cage before you put her in. We're pretty big on bribery here, so food treats are often used. Foraging food treats are good because they'll hold her interest for longer, w/o all those added calories Other than that, try to keep enough interesting toys in her cage to make her feel like it's a fun place to be, rather than that she's being "locked up". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaz80 Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 rio is 4 month now he is like that now and then i looked it up on the net and what i found that it was normal its what they do in the wild Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Ria, just wants out of the cage. Scratching in a corner is something parrots do when they want to come out of the cage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbie21187 Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 I've read that scratching in the corner is normal for Greys and it's also pretty unique to them. Mine did it when she was at the store because she was in a cage with bedding on the bottom, no grate. She has a grate at home so she doesn't. This is from the November 2011 issue of bird talk: "Unique behaviors for the grey parrot include scratching the ground like a chicken. African greys of all ages and both sexes do this strange little maneuver. When African greys are babies, people often see them in a corner and believe they may be trying to scratch their way out of their cage or enclosure. Adult greys in the wild scratch the ground as they forage for food near the swamp areas. When adult greys are ready to mate, they scratch to clear out holes in trees and make nests. This also comes in handy when cleaning out soiled nests." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koukikoukis Posted September 22, 2011 Author Share Posted September 22, 2011 Many thanks to everyone!!! This is a very helpful forum, and i hope to have the chance to exchange stories and knowledge often. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capo Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 I read that scratching it the corner is sign of fear and it is, just like abbie said, pretty unique for Greys. Maybe she's afraid of some toy in the cage. Try to remove toys one by one and watch how she react without that toy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray P Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 I don`t think the chicken scratch is sign of fear. My grey Corky will do the chicken scratch when she is on a flat serface and finds something on the table that intrest her and she will go over to it and put her beak down on the table and scratch for a min. or so and than find something else to do. It`s a grey thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 I have to agree with Ray that it is not a sign of fear, my Josey will do that scratch too and a lot of the time it is wanting to get out of her cage to be with me. That quoted portion of Abbie's post was in Bird Talk describing common grey behaviors and it is something that greys do in the wild and so it is in captivity too and is nothing to worry about as long as they get plenty of out of cage time but just like a child they want more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koukikoukis Posted September 22, 2011 Author Share Posted September 22, 2011 I have come to the conclusion that Ria scratches the corner of her cage as a sign to tell me that she wants to get out. I just don't want to take her out at that time, since i am afraid that by doing this i will reinforce this kind of behavior. Today when i was asleep on the couch she was perched and didn't make any noise at all. When i woke up, she wanted out. I want her to be with me, but i also think that she has to learn to spend some time inside her cage... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdhouse Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 "Unique behaviors for the grey parrot include scratching the ground like a chicken...." ...that one I'd have to question. I had a tiel who used to do that & my ekkie also did it when she was younger. Both did it to get my attention when they wanted out. koukikoukis, you might want to try to be sensitive to the difference between discouraging certain behavior & frustrating Ria. She knows you're aware of what she's doing & unless you can tune it out completely, she'll likely see it as a contest of wills... that you're not likely to win btw. If she can't get some response, preferably the one she's looking for, then she's likely to escalate the behavior or change it to something that will get a response. Never underestimate the stubborn streak in a Grey! You'll be a much happier parront for it!! That was why I originally suggested trying to avoid the issue w/a distraction, or "talk her thru" getting settled in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koukikoukis Posted September 22, 2011 Author Share Posted September 22, 2011 Thnx again birdhouse, you seem to have a lot of experience with parrot behavior. But i am a bit confused. If a distraction or another method of calming her don't work, are you suggesting that i should get her out of the cage while she is behaving in this certain way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdhouse Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 (edited) I guess that depends on how agitated she gets. Kind of like how long to let the baby stay in the crib when she cries. Because that's one of the possible reasons she's doing it. She's still a baby & she may not be comfortable being physically separated yet. There are various degrees of responding w/o actually taking her out though. Also like a human baby, she may be reassured just by your talking to her. Parrots need to keep in touch w/contact calls. She may also settle some if you just go to the cage for a minute & maybe scritch her thru the bars. Or she may be working out how to communicate w/you & possibly testing your reaction. Whether or not she learns to use that knowledge for good or evil is partly about how you respond >;> Lots of greys do it, but you've said she's doing it for long enough to suggest she's pretty determined. She might just be miffed that she doesn't get to be out having fun anymore, too. So your mission...as you have chosen to accept it...is to figure out why, then work w/it. Edited September 22, 2011 by birdhouse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 I've read that, in the wild, greys eat dirt to supplement their diet with minerals, so the scratching/digging is likely an instinctual behavior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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